Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,90

greeted. Cyler turned to look at me, and I saw the sadness behind his polite smile. Today was difficult.

“Thanks, babe,” Cyler whispered. I noticed Mark grin and whisper to the man next to him at Cyler’s sweet nickname for me. Jules huffed and turned to walk away without sparing me even a glance, but in her brash brush-off, she ran smack dab into a shirtless Tallis. She gasped.

“Well hello there, Jules,” Tallis said with a grin. “You’ve got to stop bumping into me, some will start to think you’re doing it on purpose.”

Jules laughed nervously while peering around at us. Mark Caverly looked stunned to see the Scavenger leader, and the entire province went quiet with curiosity. Jules emitted a nervous laugh. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Move out of my way,” she ordered.

Tallis looked at Jules like she was a challenge he just accepted. His bright, wild eyes glistened with promise. He took a crooked finger and traced Jules’ elbow before bending over and whispering loud enough for me to hear. “You first.”

Jules scoffed at him, hiked up her dress, and then maneuvered herself around him after spitting in the dirt at his bare feet and cursing.

“Well that was interesting,” I murmured. Cyler closed the distance between us, ignoring his baby sister’s tantrum.

Tallis nodded in greeting towards us before making his way over to a group of chatting miners and Scavengers. The integration had a few prejudice bumps in the road, but it had mostly been smooth. Tallis moved with confidence, and his exotic features made the chatting Walker womens’ eyes grow wide with curiosity.

“You’ll have to excuse me, Mr. Caverly. It seems the person I was looking for found me.” Cyler hooked my arm through his and began walking down the street, diverting my attention from Tallis. People seemed to want to stop and chat with Cyler, probably providing commentary on his parents, but each time they got close, he leaned in to me and acted as though we were having a serious conversation.

“I’m sorry, babe. I’ll let you go once we get out of here,” he murmured as another man tried to approach us. We made our way towards the manor, but instead of going inside, Cyler directed me around the left side of the house towards a section of thick trees.

Once under the shady protection of the forest, Cyler released my hand and rested his forehead against one of the trunks. “Maverick gets to hide in his Clinic. Jules simply basks in the glow of the attention. Where does that leave me?” he asked while twisting his body and sliding down the trunk until he was sitting at the base. Cyler’s lips were pressed together, his dark eyes narrowed in frustration .

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked. Cyler always seemed in control of his emotions. I could easily gauge what the others needed, but with him I felt unsure.

“One day, I want to tell you all about them. Mom would have loved you. She’d probably be arranging a marriage between us by now.” He chuckled. “I got my determined stubbornness from her. Dad would be running this province much better than I’ve done.” Cyler lifted one shoulder in a tentative half-shrug. “But I want to hide away today. Can we do that? I need a distraction.”

I wanted to argue with him. Cyler’s entire life was one big distraction. He worked himself to the bone, constantly shifting from one problem to the next, struggling to continue his parents’ legacy while avoiding grief. I wanted to urge him to confront his problems but had enough sense to recognize that now wasn’t the time.

“I’ll never get used to the trees here,” I said in an obvious attempt at changing the subject. “I used to think Galla was beautiful with all the tall, uniform, buildings. But now that I’ve seen the wild of the trees, I don’t think Galla can even compare.” I looked up at the large shaded leaves above us. Bursts of sunlight peeked through the gaps of the branches, causing beams of light to sprinkle across us.

Cyler smiled broadly, and a mischievous look replaced his grim frown. “I want to show you something. Are you up for a little exploring?” Cyler asked while standing back up. He dusted off his pants, grabbed my hand, and started pulling me towards the manor.

“I’m up for an adventure,” I replied with a smile.

We made our way towards the back of the manor where a